Previously…
– Travis privately regretted something that he did the night of the Objection gala.
– Sienna insisted to Tempest that her connection to Isaac and her presence in King’s Bay were complete coincidences. Meanwhile, Isaac voiced his distrust of Sienna to Diane, who vowed to support him regardless.
– Brent shared with Spencer that Loretta had died from poisoning but withheld the detail that the poison had been administered topically. In light of this, he was particularly interested in the hair appointment that Loretta had on the day that she died.

The storefronts in downtown King’s Bay have been fully outfitted for Christmas, with garland, tinsel, and even mistletoe on display in nearly every business’s window. Elly Vanderbilt sets down a few bags — the fruits of her shopping for her young cousins, Gabrielle and Josh and Lauren’s two children — and takes a seat on a bench along busy Platz Street. The chilly December air nips at her nose and ears; a rendition of “Jingle Bells” by someone whose voice she cannot place plays from a nearby shop.

Elly is marking several items off the shopping list she has stored on her phone when she glances up and sees Travis Fisher down the street — with his wife. Each holds a to-go cup of coffee as they peruse the display in one store’s window, looking every bit the happy, normal couple. As she watches them, her mind drifts back to a night not too long ago…

“Travis? What are you doing here?”

“Nothing,” he says, though the quiver in his voice gives away that this is very much something. “What about you?”

Elly hesitates a beat, then answers, “It doesn’t matter.” But she can tell from the look on his face that he believes her about as much as she believes him.

She remembers the feeling of holding him tight against her later, the two of them both so desperate for some peace and solace.

She is so lost in her thoughts that she doesn’t realize until it is too late that they are now standing only a few feet away, having noticed her.

“Hey,” Elly says folding her hands in her lap. “Um, happy holidays.”

“Happy holidays,” Travis replies, a bit stiffly. Rosie crinkles her brow as her gaze shifts between the two of them. 

“Okay,” Rosie says, her tone as hard as her expression. “What the hell is going on here?”

—–

A modest green tree outfitted in large multicolored bulbs stands beside the entertainment console in the cozy living room of Tempest Banks’ and Samantha Fisher’s apartment. Although Claire left most of the furniture for the couple when she moved out and turned the apartment over to them, it is still a work-in-progress, and the simple tree is one of the first personal touches they have put on the space. 

“Looks good in here,” Isaac Banks comments to his sister as she hands him a bottle of beer from the fridge.

“Thanks,” Tempest replies, grabbing her own beer from the fridge. She closes the door and turns toward him. “Kinda weird since I’ve been here all along and not that much has changed, but it’s so different having it be me and Sam’s place.”

“It’s a big step for you guys. I’m happy for you.”

With a smile, she passes him the bottle opener, and he swiftly forces the cap off his beer. He hands it back to her.

“But I’m guessing you didn’t wanna stop by just to see our Christmas tree,” Tempest says.

Isaac twists his lips together. “You got me.”

She opens her own beer and says, with exaggerated confusion, “Lemme think… oh, right… it’s gotta have something to do with Sienna.”

“How’d you know?” he replies with lifted eyebrows.

“I had a talk with her,” Tempest tells him. “She swears she had no idea you lived here or that I was your sister.”

“Of course she’s not gonna admit any of that.”

“She also swears that Noelle is your kid.”

With a nod, Isaac takes a sip of his beer.

“When I saw that kid, I knew she wasn’t white,” Tempest continues. “I could just tell. I didn’t think anything of it ’til I realized you and Sienna had this whole past, though. And that friend of yours she was creeping with—“

“Very much white,” Isaac completes the thought. “This is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Your old friend being white?”

“That little girl. Noelle. I need you to help me plan for a DNA test.”

“I’m pretty sure Sienna would do it whenever you asked.”

“Good,” Isaac says. “Because I can’t even start to think about what happens next until I know for sure if that’s my kid.”

“I can give you her number—“

“I don’t want her number, and I don’t want her to have mine,” he says firmly. 

Tempest scowls. “You do realize you’re gonna have to, like, co-parent with her if the test comes back positive.”

“And we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. But I don’t wanna give Sienna any more access to me than she absolutely needs. Ever again.”

—–

“You’re sure there isn’t anything else?” Sabrina Gage asks, a plaintive note in her voice as she holds her cell phone to her ear and paces back and forth in the foyer of her boyfriend’s home. She listens to the overly wordy, information-deficient response from the other end, feeling her entire being sag downward with every syllable delivered.

“Thanks, then, I guess,” she says glumly, but she immediately catches her tone. “I’m sorry for sounding frustrated. It’s just, it’s been weeks and weeks, and—“ 

The other voice cuts in again.

“Well, thank you,” Sabrina says before finally ending the call. 

Sophie Fisher pops her head out of the living room. “You know,” the teenager says, “you can just tell people they’re doing a crappy job sometimes.”

Caught off-guard, Sabrina’s mouth flaps open and closed without producing words. 

“Whoever that was obviously didn’t do what you needed them to do,” Sophie observes. 

“That was the detective handling my arson case,” Sabrina says, emitting a long, weighty sigh. “I’ve been waiting for an update…”

“And they still don’t have one?”

“Not much of one. They’re convinced that the original suspect had nothing to do with it.”

“Your ex’s deranged sister who has a lust for revenge?” Sophie asks matter-of-factly.

“Carrie, yeah.” Sabrina runs a hand over her dark hair. “She has an alibi and hasn’t left Iowa, let alone been anywhere near King’s Bay.”

“She could’ve hired someone…”

“That feels a little… worldly for someone from Center City. Hiring someone to commit arson all the way across the country? I really doubt it.” She puts her phone back into the pocket of her jeans. “What would you like for dinner? I told your dad I would handle it tonight.”

“How about pizza?” Sophie asks with a gleam in her eyes.

“I was thinking of cooking myself, but pizza would work.” Sabrina peers around the wall into the living room. “What have you been doing in there? I saw you carrying all kinds of boxes while I was on the phone.”

“Getting out the Christmas decorations. I really wanna find my Nightmare Before Christmas stuff…”

“Can I help?” Sabrina asks softly. “Only if you want help, I mean.”

The dark-haired teen contemplates this for a few seconds. “Sure. Sounds like you’re gonna be here for Christmas, anyway.”

“I guess so,” Sabrina says as they enter the living room, which is a cluttered mess of cardboard boxes and plastic crates. Most of them have been opened and partially unpacked. “I thought the insurance company would have reimbursed me for everything I lost by now, but — anyway, I don’t mean to bore you.”

“It’s not boring. Arson! Intrigue! Mystery! What’s boring about that?”

Sabrina shrugs. “I guess you have a point.”

Sophie indicates a stack of crates in the corner. “Check those for my Nightmare Before Christmas stuff. I have this whole idea for a display.”

“Consider it done,” Sabrina says as she goes to the crates, grateful for both the distraction and the peace between herself and Jason’s daughter.

The frigid air blasts Brent Taylor as the doors to Edge of Winter Arena slam behind him, echoing through the vast space. Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree” plays over the sound system as a very spirited young skater practices a routine. Parents and other volunteers are busy hanging Christmas and holiday decorations all around the rink. Brent finds Natalie Bishop at one corner of the ice, affixing a strand of silver tinsel to the top of the plexiglass barrier.

“I was told I would find you here,” Brent announces.

Natalie stops mid-movement, and he can tell that she has her hackles up simply from the sight of him. She lowers the tinsel to her side. “What do you need? I’m helping set up for the Christmas show.”

“This won’t take long. I need the contact information for the hairstylist who did Loretta’s hair the day she died.”

“Oh. You could’ve just called for that,” she says, a harsh edge to the words.

He shrugs that off. “So you have the info to share?”

“Yeah. It’s on my phone. I can AirDrop the contact to you.” She resumes hanging the tinsel. “Why do you need it?”

“Because I’m investigating a murder, and anyone who had contact with the victim that day could be of use.” He watches her for a few seconds. The Kelly Clarkson song concludes, and a coach out on the ice applauds for her student. “Would you mind AirDropping that contact now?”

Natalie lets out a huff. “Sure.” 

She lets the tinsel fall again and picks up her purse, which is resting on a nearby folding table. As she fishes out her phone, Brent takes the tinsel and finishes hanging it for her.

“You don’t have to do that,” she says.

He disregards the statement and continues. 

“There,” Natalie tells him a moment later. “Sent.”

“Thank you.” He taps his smartwatch to accept the file. “Just out of curiosity, why were you the one who booked Loretta’s hair appointment?”

“What?”

“Why did you book the appointment for her? She seemed to be a pretty well-connected woman.”

“I don’t know,” Natalie says, folding her arms. “Her regular salon wouldn’t take her anymore after she got out of jail, and she tried another one but got into it with Molly and Paula, so they asked her to leave. Believe me, Loretta only came to me out of desperation.”

“And you were happy to do that for her? I didn’t realize the two of you were so close.”

“We weren’t. But she was my mother-in-law. It was easier to just do what she wanted sometimes than to put yourself in her crosshairs, you know?”

“Got it.” Brent tests the adhesive securing the tinsel and, satisfied, steps back. “Thanks for sharing that contact info.”

“No problem.” After a tense pause, she asks, “Do you think the hairstylist had something to do with Loretta’s death?”

“I don’t think anything yet,” he says. “I’m still gathering info. Why? Is there something else I should know?”

She shakes her head insistently. “No. Nothing. Nothing I know about, anyway. Good luck, Brent.”

With a quick wave, he heads for the exit. Natalie watches as he goes.

What aren’t you telling me? she wonders, as a shiver goes through her body.

—–

Elly watches uneasily, not wanting to make the wrong move, as a stricken expression overtakes Travis’s face — and then, just as swiftly, how he covers it.

“What do you mean?” he asks Rosie.

“The last time we saw you, I was slapping you for what you pulled in court,” Rosie says.

“What, am I supposed to go running scared?” Elly challenges.

“I’ll admit that wasn’t my finest moment. So I’m sorry, Elly. Really. That wasn’t the move. Even if I’m still disgusted by how things went down at the custody trial.”

Elly acknowledges this with a terse nod and nothing further.

“Elly and I, we, uh… we ran into each other while you were gone,” Travis jumps in. “With everything going on, we had a, you know, a rational talk and agreed to keep things civil.”

“That’s nice, I guess,” Rosie says.

“I don’t want any trouble,” Elly says as she begins to gather her shopping bags. 

“None of us do,” Travis agrees, a little too eagerly. “Have a good Christmas, Elly.”

“You guys, too.” She stands from the bench, bags in hand, and begins making her way down the street. “Jingle Bells” gives way to a tinny-sounding recording of “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” And when she glances backward, just for an instant, she sees Travis throwing a look over his shoulder in her direction, too. 

Even from this distance, she can tell from his eyes that he is thinking about that night, too.

END OF EPISODE 1244

What secret are Travis and Elly hiding?
Can Isaac actually co-parent with Sienna?
Will Sabrina get answers about the fire?
Discuss all this and more in the comments below!

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